Sarah Hoff, a senior history and education major at William Jewell College in Liberty, Mo., has been named a 2008 recipient of the James Madison Memorial Fellowship. Hoff is a resident of Lake Saint Louis, Mo.

James Madison Fellowships support the graduate study of American history by aspiring and experienced secondary school teachers of American history, American government and social studies.

Named in honor of the fourth president of the United States and acknowledged “Father of the Constitution and Bill of Rights,” a James Madison Fellowship funds up to $24,000 of each Fellow’s course of study towards a master’s degree. That program must include a concentration of courses on the history and principles of the United States Constitution.

“The James Madison Fellowship is an outstanding opportunity for me to become a better educator because it allows me to further develop my knowledge of the subjects I intend to teach in secondary school,” Hoff said. “My rigorous academic experience at William Jewell prepared me to compete and win this fellowship”

The James Madison Fellows were selected in competition with applicants from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the nation’s island and trust territories. The fellowships are funded by income from a trust fund in the Treasury of the United States and from additional private gifts, corporate contributions and foundation grants. Recipients are required to teach American history or social studies in a secondary school for at least one year for each year of fellowship support. The award is intended to recognize promising and distinguished teachers, to strengthen their knowledge of the origins and development of American constitutional government, and thus to expose the nation’s secondary school students to accurate knowledge of the nation’s constitutional heritage.

“Sarah is representative of the outstanding students at William Jewell College, said Dr. Lois Anne Harris, director of the college’s Prestigious Honors Program. “She has a passion for history and will turn that passion into action through teaching. While working with Sarah throughout her application process, I was able to observe a remarkably gifted woman who is inquisitive, persistent, good-natured and self-driving.”

Founded by an Act of Congress in 1986, the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation is an independent establishment of the executive branch of the federal government. Additional information may be found at www.jamesmadison.gov